


Revenge is a Dish Best Served...

by Cannibal_Wings



Category: Fallout 4
Genre: Body Horror, Gen, Gore, Goretober, Goretober 2020, Ice Crystals
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-06
Updated: 2020-10-06
Packaged: 2021-03-07 17:33:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,187
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26851498
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cannibal_Wings/pseuds/Cannibal_Wings
Summary: ...FrozenNate and Nick confront Kellogg about the whereabouts of Shaun.Turns out the human body doesn't enjoy having cryogenic fluid injected into it.
Comments: 9
Kudos: 17





	Revenge is a Dish Best Served...

Kremvh's Tooth whined in Nate’s ear as it slid between the metal frame of a synth. “I know, I know,” Nate said to the blade as he drove it home, “synthetic just isn’t the same.” He twisted and felt coolant spill out across his hand and he yanked the blade free and watched with cold eyes as the even colder eyes of the synth blinked out. He stepped back and wiped the blade on his pants, it didn’t like being coated in anything other than blood. 

Nick did his best to ignore the way that Nate would speak to the weird sword he pulled out of some altar at the bottom of a pit. Everyone had something they ignored about Nate. MacCready ignored an occasional murder in cold blood, Hancock turned a blind eye to the acts of cannibalism, Piper didn’t call out the various lies, and Nick, well, Nick tried very hard to pretend that he didn’t catch Nate muttering full conversations with a weapon. He didn’t acknowledge the things that seemingly only Nate could see or hear, whether they were ghosts or gods or delusions, he tried not to care. 

The wasteland had taken so much from both of them and it was a near miracle that the man before him hadn’t been swept away completely by the cruelty of the new world they found themselves in. Nick woke up in a trash heap, abandoned and forgotten in a world that had jumped forward in time, while Nate stumbled out of a glorified freezer into the same world, one that had left him behind. They were both out of place and Nick could sympathize. 

“There’s too many damn synths in this building,” Nate said and kicked an arm away from them. “Present company excluded, of course.” 

“Of course,” Nick replied smoothly. Those kinds of comments didn’t bother him anymore. As much as he hated to admit it, he did think of himself as an other. When it came to synths he had an “us” vs “them” mentality where they were the them and he was the us with humans. The disconnect allowed him to plant a bullet between a gen two synth’s eyes despite them having the very same body and feel absolutely nothing. Their point of separation was a .5 etched into Nick’s model number that was absent on the others. The difference was so miniscule but held all the weight in the world.

Nate continued to complain, “I want to kill something, let out some of this pent up frustration. And these glorified toasters just aren’t doing it.” 

Nick rolled electronic eyes and said, “I’m sure you can find yourself a nice raider den after this. All the bloodthirsty morons and dirty needles your heart could desire. But first we have a job to do.” 

“Oh,” Nate said with a grin, “I’m aware. Don’t you dare think I’m not. I’ve been waiting for this moment for months.” 

Nick watched him bend down and pick up a laser rifle. It was a standard institute model, there were other folks in the Commonwealth who had access to better, ones with stronger refractors, more precise beams, larger energy capacity, the list went on. For some reason the Institute seemed to have neglected their weapons technology. It didn’t make sense to Nick, but he tried not to understand the reasons behind the actions of the Institute. Nevertheless Nate still picked up the weapon. He eyed it critically and then pulled out a screwdriver from a pocket. In a few quick movements he had popped out a component from the gun and placed it with the screwdriver back in a pocket. 

Somehow Nate was always aware of the unseen value hidden in common trash. Nick had to admit, the man was a genius. He had been to the settlements that Nate had helped found. He’d seen the things he built, the gun turrets, the monitoring systems, the houses,generators and purifiers, it seemed like there wasn’t a thing the guy couldn’t build. “I took out the booster,” he explained to Nick who hadn’t asked. “I noticed this gun was firing at a different frequency than the others, the missed shots felt hotter, I wanted to investigate.” He stepped over the rest of the bodies and moved into the next room. The door was flanked by two tattered American flags. Once inside it revealed itself to be a circular room with a locked door on the opposite side.

“End of the line?” Nick asked as Nate tried the handle. “There must be a key around here somewhere.” 

“Or a terminal if it’s electrically sealed,” Nate offered up and did a quick lap around the room. “I’m not spotting any wires though. The last set went to the laser turrets, this area is clear.” There was a bed in the middle of the room, a first aid kit sat next to it on a table, Nate rifled through the contents before sitting on the bed. “Fancy a nap?” 

“Even if I could, I could think of a thousand more pleasant places to lay my head down.” 

“I don’t know, there’s kind of a homey “bunker under the porch” feel to this place.” 

Nate opened his mouth to continue when a voice crackled through a speaker mounted in the room. “Okay, you made it. I’m just up ahead. My synths are standing down, let's talk.” It was Kellogg. 

Nate’s head whipped up and all his muscles tensed. “Yes,” he said, his voice shocked Nick in how predatory it was. “Let’s talk.” He didn’t go straight for the door. Instead he slid his backpack off and rummaged through it. He pulled out a single syringe with a dull glowing blue liquid.

“What’s that?” Nick asked. It didn’t look like any chem he knew of. 

“Poetic justice,” was all Nate replied with. He placed the syringe in a leather pouch on his armor before shouldering the backpack once more. He adjusted the leather chest piece and metal shoulder pads before he stood up and started to check his weapons.

“You know we’re here for your son right?” 

“I’ll leave with Shaun, don’t think I won’t.” 

“Well, it just seems to me that you’re preparing for more than just a “talk”.” 

Nate let out one cold laugh. “Yeah, and you’re right. Because the only talking I’ll be doing is with this,” he pulled out a single .44 pistol from its holster, “and this,” he again removed the syringe and flashed it before putting it back in the pocket. 

“We need information,” Nick pressed. “If you want to find your son you’ll need to milk this monster for everything bit of info he has.” 

Nate only frowned. “The answer is simple though,” he said. “If Shuan isn’t with him in that next room then he’s with the Institute. Really for a detective I thought you’d pull the pieces together faster than this.” 

“Of course he’s with the Institute, calling out the obvious shot doesn’t make you the smart one here. We’ve had the Institute on our suspect list from day one.” 

“Well, yeah,” Nate said and started for the door. “But before we had nothing to go on besides paranoia. Face it, any time _anything_ strange happens in the Commonwealth everyone’s first instinct is to blame the Institute. Now we have more evidence than just blaming the local boogeyman.” 

Nick nodded. “Yes. The massive amount of Institute synths that run with this man are a bit of a giveaway. But it’s always nice to have confirmation straight from the horse's mouth, so to speak.” 

Nate didn’t say anything else. When they reached the door they found that it swung open without any input from them. Which meant it was remote controlled. VATS didn’t reveal any cameras in the room or hallway, but maybe it was cloaked. The targeting system had some quirks that Nate hadn’t managed to fix. He blinked the effect away and continued down the hall. 

At the top of a staircase was another metal door, and once more it slid open without any prompts from either of them. They proceeded through the door cautiously and stepped out into an open room. “And there he is, the most resilient man in the Commonwealth. Funny, I thought I had that honor. You came a long way, let's hear it.” Kellogg appeared from behind a set of computer terminals. He had his hands up, no weapon was visible, but Nate didn’t lower his.

He blinked again and his eyes flashed green. Within the room he spotted two more synths, both generation two, neither of them particularly well armored. Hit statistics and ranges flashed through his mind, almost too quickly to comprehend. They shifted and moved, the percentages going up and down with even the slightest shift of his gun. In a swift two shot movement he put down both synths and holstered his gun, stepping forward.

“I told you,” Kellogg said, a frown creeping onto his features, “my synths were standing down.” 

The green bled out of Nate’s cold grey eyes as VATS ceased to run. “I don’t trust robots.” He could see that Kellogg was looking past him, to Nick who was just behind him. “Don’t fucking look at him, he’s not your concern.” 

“Ah, my apologies, your hypocrisy is staggering. I must admit.” He rolled his shoulders and said, “But that’s not what you’re here to discuss. So, what do you have to say?” 

Nate spat the words out, “You murdered my wife, and stole my son. What do you think I have to say to you?” 

“Ah, yes. Your wife. That was… a regrettable accident.” Nate’s hand whipped down to grip the handle of his gun once more. “Quick to anger are you? That’s fine, it’s preferable really, in this world only the strong survive. Think about it, you’ve seen the state of everything here, the mess, the chaos, the pain. You think she would have wanted this life? Putting her down was a mercy, I gave her an escape she didn’t even know she nee-”

Kremvh's Tooth hissed at Nate’s side and he growled back in agreement, his hand moved away from his .44 and to the blade that sat loosely at his side. “My son.” Nate’s rage was barely contained. “Where is he? Now. Choose your next words carefully.” 

“Or what?” 

The speed at which Nate could have a blade against another man’s throat surprised both Kellogg and Nick. The blade cheered, it roared and Nate’s blood roared with it. “I’ll kill you right here, right now. You mean _nothing_ to me.” 

Kellogg put his hand on Nate’s arm and pushed it away. The other man let him do this, and he took one step back for good measure. “Right, point taken.” 

Nick’s voice sounded from behind Nate, “Remember kid, you need information. Not blood.” 

Nate asked again, “Where’s my son?” 

“I’m sure you’ve put it together, he’s not here. I can’t give him to you. As for where? What’s the cliche? So close, and yet so far away? That’s your son. That’s Shaun.” 

Nate tossed his arms up and said, “Ok, so the Institute. Whatever, we knew that. You guys aren’t exactly subtle. Now, where is it?” 

To that, Kellogg laughed. “Oh, it’s not a place you can go.” 

“Bullshit. Are you trying to tell me it’s some nebulous concept? Oh the Institute is aaaallllll around us!” He swung his arms out wide then dropped them. “Where is it? How do I get in?” 

“Damn you are persistent and bad at listening. You don’t “get in”. You don’t “find it”. The Institute finds _you_ and when it does you’ll wish it hadn’t. You open the closet, there’s nothing there. It’s just a closet. You can never find the monster hiding inside. Not until it jumps out at you.” When Kellogg looked at the man who stood across from him he realized that there was a monster right in front of him. One that was not hiding. “Listen, if it’s any comfort, Shaun’s in a good place. Where he’s safe, comfortable and loved. A place he calls home.” 

“Really, really, _really_ , not a comfort. You’re going to tell me how to open this closet door Kellogg. You’re going to tell this monster exactly how to get in.” 

“Oh I’d love to, but I don’t have that information. You think the Institute just goes around spilling their greatest secret to every mercenary they employ? Doubtful.” 

“Well then,” Nate said, “it seems like you’re swiftly outliving your usefulness to me. I’ll find my son, without your help, without your information, I’ll get him back and I’ll move hell itself if I have to.” 

“Ha! That’s the spirit. You know? You surprise me. I have to admit, I find myself kind of… liking ya’.”

“Shame,” Nate replied, and pulled out the syringe. “You really ‘ought to not like me.” He stepped forward and closed the small gap between them. “I know you’re not the one who put me in there originally, but you made a big damn mistake in putting me back.” 

Kellogg looked into Nate’s eyes. He couldn’t see any emotion reflected back. It was as if the man was one of the Institute’s synths, like he was a courser. That thought crossed his mind, briefly, that the Institute was fucking with him the whole time, that this man was exactly that, a courser sent to take him out for knowing just enough to be dangerous. “I’m starting to realize I should have put a bullet in your head right there and then. Enough talking, I have a mistake to correct. This ends in only one way, are you ready?” 

The barrel of the gun was placed against Nate’s temple. He didn’t flinch. “Are you?” In a blur of motion the gun was knocked away with Nate’s left arm and his right hand which held the syringe made contact with Kellogg’s neck . The plunger was depressed and the contents emptied into Kellogg’s bloodstream. 

“The _fuck_ was that? Just now?” Kellogg’s hand moved up to his neck and pulled out the needled. But it was far, far too late to stop the cascade of events that were set into motion within his body.

Nate didn’t offer up any explanation. He just smiled, wide. His teeth seemed just a little too sharp to be human. Then Kellogg gasped, just once, followed by a choking sound. The grin grew wider. 

Inside Kellogg’s body a chain reaction was violently in the works. The blue liquid seeped into a vein and with startling quickness began to circulate to the heart. Once inside a vein the reaction was triggered. Ice crystals, small, yet sharp began to form rapidly. The water in the blood plasma was the first target. Quickly it crystallized and started to harden, but not quick enough to fully impede the flow. Bits of crystalized plasma broke off and bumped into blood platelets. The sharp edges pierced through the cell, puncturing it and allowing the original agent to seep in and begin to freeze each platelet individually.

From there the momentum increased. Plasma, to platelet, to the cells that lined the veins. It all began to rapidly freeze. Kellogg was able to gasp out, “What the hell?” He watched as a webbing of dark lines spread across his body. When he moved an arm something audibly cracked. The same sound was repeated when he shuffled a leg back. 

Within his body his frozen veins snapped like glow sticks and liquid slush leaked out. The blood pooled deep and dark just under the skin. All over the bruises blossomed as a frost spread from hair follicle to hair follicle. Two things started to happen within Kellogg at the same moment. The original ice mixture made it to his heart. The muscle stuttered, and forced itself to beat the thick combination of slushy plasma, lysate, and broken blood platelets along with undamaged ones. It all mixed in the chambers and spread out into the arteries where the solution got to work. The second thing occurred at the site where blood leaked from the cracked and shattered veins. Where freezing blood met skeletal muscle. 

The ice shards penetrated and spread into the muscles, causing them to contract violently. Kellogg was thrown to his knees. The gun clattered to the floor as he gripped at his chest, his stomach, his arms, anything he could before his fingers locked into place. His heart was pounding wildly, unlike anything he had ever felt. The dying muscle was trying to pump slush. It was failing. His lungs felt muddy. Each breath was like dragging daggers through his throat and chest. Everything was tight. He couldn’t swallow, there was nothing _to_ swallow. His tongue felt frozen to his mouth, his jaw clenched shut painfully. He thought he felt several teeth shatter and tumble across his tongue. 

Nate watched the man fall first to his knees, then to the floor. A sound like breaking glass, like shattered crystal accompanied each grand movement. Kellogg strained his eyes to look up at the man who had killed him. The light shadowed his features. Then ice shadowed his eyes and he saw nothing else. 

The reaction continued deeper into his body. Ice spread crystalline ropes through the arteries and pierced through into every corner of his body. His toes curled, froze solid and shattered inside his boot. The muscles in his arm spasmed one last time, thrusting his arm out towards Nate before it locked into place. His organs started to freeze solid, acid putting up a futile resistance. The smooth muscle that lined his twisting guts bucked and whipped before succumbing to the ice that was changing his body from something wet and organic to desolate and cold. 

He violently turned inward, the movement beyond his control and then he didn’t move anymore. Light pink liquid dribbled out of purple lips to pool on the concrete floor by his head. His skin had turned an almost comical shade of blue, it was splotchy with frozen bruises. The last bits of what made Kellogg, Kellogg were firing off in decreasing frequency. The icy hand of death finally curled around his brain and squeezed. The organ expanded against the cranium before bits ruptured and froze solid. 

Nate knelt down and poked at the body with Kremvh's Tooth, bits of frozen human crumbled away. From the cracks his insides poured out like creamy blue sand. “Well,” Nate said, “I think that was a successful conversation. Really learned a lot, don’t you think? Nick?” 

“Jesus kid,” Nick had a hand to his mouth but they both knew he had nothing to throw up. “What the hell was that?” 

“Cryogenic fluid, modified and injected directly into the bloodstream. I got the idea from the Overseer’s terminal back in Vault 111.” He stood up and toed at the body at his feet. It continued to crumble away, Kellogg’s clothing was the only thing keeping it even vaguely human shaped. “You see, when they froze us, the system used this fluid as well, but it was a chaser, in a sense. They primed the bodies with an antifreeze concoction before injecting the cryogenic fluid. This prevented our veins and arteries from bursting or our muscles tearing themselves apart. A lot of animals have natural antifreeze components within their bodies. Think amphibians that can freeze solid every winter or insects that get encased in ice. Same idea, but artificial for humans, obviously.” 

Nate started to paw through Kellogg’s coat pockets and pulled out a single drive, which he hoped would have a terminal pass key on it. It would be helpful if one of the many computers in this room was usable. “Anyways,” Nate continued, “the overseer had this idea to turn the cryogenic solution into ammunition, shoot it at people. I thought that was a very interesting train of thought, one that could be applied to the syringer I picked up from that hospital basement a few weeks back. You could say that this was a test run, a proof of concept.” 

“Grisly is what it was. Horrific.”

Nate scoffed. “Somehow worse than bleeding out or dying from a gut shot? Really? Worse than being skinned alive and hung from meat hooks in some abandoned warehouse while raiders higher than the clouds hoot and holler?” 

“Never said it was worse or better than the alternatives. Just saying, you invented a whole new way to cause pain to people. An achievement in this era I’d say. If this is your idea of poetic justice...” he trailed off.

“What can I say?” Nate said and shifted his attention to another coat pocket. “It’s that prewar ingenuity at work.” He picked up Kellogg’s gun and looked it over before he said, “Mine’s better,” and dropped it back onto the thawing mush pile that was a hand. He stood up and addressed Nick, “So, the Institute. I guess that’s the confirmation we were looking for.” 

“Looks like,” Nick said and frowned. “Too bad you couldn’t get anything else out of him before you turned him into a human snowcone.” 

“Oh yeah, weeping over that, really Nick. Right here,” he pounded his chest, above his heart twice. “Anyways, do you know how to get in?” 

“Not a clue.” 

“Really?” Nate arched an eyebrow. “They built you and you have no idea how to get back?” 

“Sorry,” Nick said harsher than he intended, “I must have skipped that part of orientation. It's hard to remember when they were tearing you apart and putting you back together again repeatedly. Next time I’ll pay better attention between the torture.” 

“Nick I’m-” he cut himself off. “Sorry, you know? You were an experiment, I’d never forget that, they hurt you and I’ll hurt them for it. You have my word.” 

“I don’t doubt what you’re capable of, that’s for sure. At least you’re on our side.” 

Nate bent back down and pulled the jacket off. He shook out the bits of Kellogg and put it on. “Well?” He laughed and asked, “How do I look?” 

“You’re horrible.” 

“Waste not,” he said and looked down at the leather coat. “I think it looks good on me. It’s not like he’s-” Nate paused as something caught his eye in the mush. “What’s this?” He bent back down and pulled out a metallic bit that was lodged near what he thought was a frozen liver. “Nick look at this shit, there’s all this tech in here. Looks like this guy was about as human as you.” 

“You thinking he was a synth too? Generation three maybe? Four?” 

“No,” Nate said and pawed through what remained of Kellogg while Nick made a sound of disgust. “Generation three synths appear to be mostly meat, save for the…” He gestured at the head.

“Ick, don’t.” 

“I’ve always wanted to squish a skull and not get sprayed.” 

“Disgusting,” Nick turned away while Nate did the deed. It sounded like a snowball hitting pavement. “Well?” He said and didn’t move his head to look. “You find anything in there?” 

“Oh yeah, Nicky I think we hit the jackpot.” He moved into Nick’s view and shook the iced Kellogg off his fingers. “Check this out, it’s like those synth components I pull out of replaced settlers. If this asshole knew how to get into the Institute and wasn’t saying? I’m betting the info is here.” 

“So you’re thinking if we crack it it’ll hold memories?” 

“Or data, if it’s not straight up recorded memories.” He turned it around in his hand. “Oh, cute, it even has his name on it. Conrad Kellogg.” 

“So, where do we go from here?” 

“Let’s check these terminals for information, loot the synths, and get the hell out of here. Then I’m thinking we pay Goodneighbor a visit.” 

Nick sighed. “You can head to Goodneighbor, I’ll go back to Diamond City, send for me when you’re done honeymooning with your ghoul sweetheart.” 

“Hey,” Nate protested and sat down at one of the terminals. He injected the drive into one of the ports and watched the login code appear, ready for selection. “There are other things to do in Goodneighbor that don’t involve having sex with an incredibly handsome and charismatic ghoul named Hancock.” He tabbed through the contents on the screen. “I’m thinking a certain doctor at the Memory Den could help us out with our little brain chip.” 

Nick was silent for a moment before he spoke, “Good idea. If there’s anyone who would be willing to help us, and have the ability to, it would be Dr. Amari.” 

“See?” Nate said and pulled away from the terminal, he ejected the drive and pocketed it. “I’m not just thinking about Hancock. I am capable of thinking about all kinds of things. Like,” he licked his lips and moved back towards the body slush.

A cold metal hand grasped the collar of his new leather jacket. “Nope. No you are _not_ indulging in that particular habit of yours in my presence. Let’s go.” 

“But-” 

“We’re _leaving_.” 

“Spoilsport.”

**Author's Note:**

> I return to Fallout 4 to write this little piece.
> 
> In most of my fics I never let Nate be the true bastard he could be. This was an excuse to have him go a little further than I normally do. This was a damn bit of fun tho.  
> Some of Kellogg's dialogue is lifted directly from the scene in game, only modified slightly.  
> I'm not doing a full goretober prompt list, I'm basically just doing my own things. If you have a suggestion, by all means suggest it and I'll see if it tickles my fancy.
> 
> If you want to read some of my other Fallout works, I have a few.  
> Dark Cravings is a fic centered around cannibalism and the dark craving status affect on survival mode. It plays with the idea that some perks mutate the body.  
> What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Mutate is another perks mutate the body fic, but this time looking at the Aquaboy perk. It's a gill fic, not much else to say there.  
> Aliferous is a wing au. It's a retelling of Fallout 4 but in a world designed with winged people in mind. I shelved it for a good long while due to the lack of attention it was receiving, but I've recently decided to pick it back up again and start updating it. I should have something new to post soon.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed, and please, leave a comment if you did. Interaction means a lot to me.


End file.
